


Bad Taste Syndrome

by sarahgirl1998



Category: Happy Tree Friends
Genre: Comedy, Gen, Humor, Illnesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:00:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23996410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahgirl1998/pseuds/sarahgirl1998
Summary: A strange illness causes Lumpy to dislike everything he tastes. Will Sniffles find a way to treat this?





	Bad Taste Syndrome

“Hey, Lumpy!” Sniffles called. “Would you come over here for a second?”

Responding to his words, Lumpy turned around and walked over to his anteater friend.

“Hey, Sniffles, what’s up?”

“I’d like you to come over to my lab,” said Sniffles. “I’ve created a drink that I think you’ll love. Would you like to try it?”

“Sure!” Lumpy nodded in agreement.

“Great, let’s go!” Sniffles smiled at him.

They then went off to Sniffles’ lab. Once they had arrived, Lumpy waited patiently as Sniffles retrieved a beaker. He showed it to Lumpy, revealing that the beaker was filled with a pink and red liquid.

“This is a cherry and cotton candy flavored drink,” Sniffles explained. “I couldn’t resist making one for myself as well, it tastes so good!”

“Sounds pretty delicious!” Lumpy commented.

“You ready?” 

“Yes!”

Sniffles handed him the beaker as soon as Lumpy had spoken. Lumpy removed the lid on the beaker and eagerly took a huge sip of the drink.

But the taste was the complete opposite of what he expected. It didn’t taste like cherry or cotton candy at all. It tasted absolutely horrible. It must have been the worst thing Lumpy had ever put in his mouth. It wasn’t even sweet, either. It tasted incredibly bitter, more so than anything he had ever eaten or drunk before. He might as well have been force-fed castor oil, taro, or any other food that was notorious for its terrible taste. His eyes shot open as his pupils shrunk dramatically.

And then he pulled the beaker away and swallowed what he had sipped, but then stuck his tongue out.

“Ugh... Ewww.”

Sniffles tore up at his reaction. “You don’t like it...?” he whimpered.

“Actually...” Lumpy gave the beaker back into Sniffles’ hands. “No, I don’t. That was the worst drink I have ever had.”

Sniffles didn’t reply. He whimpered a little more, gently placed the beaker on a table, then put his hands over his eyes and started weeping. Lumpy wiped his mouth with his hand, but the taste remained on his tongue. Even with his glands naturally producing saliva, the flavor of the drink wouldn’t be washed away.

“Lumpy, I am so sorry you don’t like it!” Sniffles said. “I didn’t know you’d react like that! And I’ve seen you have cotton candy before, so I thought maybe it’d be a good idea to make that drink, but I guess not...!”

Lumpy took a deep breath, trying to recover from his annoyance and disgust. He still felt that awful taste in his mouth, but he had realized he was getting upset for the wrong reasons. As he regained himself, he spoke.

“Um, Sniffles? I’m sorry, too. I’m afraid I don’t know why I didn’t like that...” Lumpy admitted. “I don’t remember it tasting like... that.”

“That’s strange.”

Sniffles thought about what to do, and then got an idea.

“Maybe if you try some other foods, they won’t taste as bad.”

“I guess I’ll try that.”

Lumpy went into Sniffles’ kitchen, opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. He screwed the lid off and drank some water, but he could still feel that bitter taste on his tongue.

“Ugh, this isn’t working...”

Sniffles, however, stayed in his lab. He was going to work on an antidote and restore Lumpy’s tastes. But first, he had to do some research on why Lumpy didn’t like his drink, which he was absolutely sure had nothing to do with his reaction.

Lumpy put down his water and put the lid back on. He put the bottle on the table for later and then looked back into the fridge. He saw some slices of cheese, still in their packaging, and pulled them out of the fridge. As he placed the cheese on the counter, he saw a loaf of bread, wrapped and still fresh. Lumpy got an idea.

“Maybe a cheese sandwich wouldn’t taste so bad...” Lumpy said to himself.

He brought the bread over to him and removed the twist tie. He fixed himself a sandwich with two slices of cheese and three pieces of bread. When it was finally finished, Lumpy put the remaining cheese back in the fridge and closed the bread’s large wrapper with the twist tie.

Lumpy then sat at the table, picked up his sandwich and took a few large bites. As he did so, however, an equally bad-tasting sensation surged through his tongue. This was nothing like the taste of the cheese sandwiches he had made before. It tasted exactly like the cherry and cotton candy drink Sniffles had tried to give him. But Lumpy did his best to deal with the flavor and finished his sandwich. He loved this kind of sandwich far too much to put it down.

When the last of it had made its way into his stomach, Lumpy sat back, his eyes watering. He held his belly as he stuck his tongue out. He was lucky he didn’t have a stomachache, but he was pretty sure that his belly didn’t like what he had just eaten.

“Ugh...” Lumpy groaned in discomfort. “Why did that have to taste so bad?”

“Lumpy!” Sniffles suddenly called.

Lumpy slowly got up from the chair and looked into the hall from where he stood. Sniffles was making his way into the kitchen.

“I think I’ve figured out what’s wrong with you,” said Sniffles.

“What is it?” Lumpy wanted to know.

“You’ve come down with a rare tongue condition called Bad Taste Syndrome,” said Sniffles. “It disables almost every taste in your mouth EXCEPT for the bitter taste. No matter what foods you put in your mouth, no matter how much you like those foods, you’ll feel that bitter taste in your mouth.”

“Oh...” Lumpy understood everything Sniffles had said. “Do you know what caused it?”

“I’m afraid not,” Sniffles said. “It seems to just come along randomly, when you least expect it.” Sniffles then noticed Lumpy was holding his belly. “Hey, Lumpy, is your tummy hurting?”

“No, I’m just worried about it,” said Lumpy. “I had a cheese sandwich, despite that it tasted pretty bad, and I’m not sure how it’s gonna do for me.”

“By the way, Lumpy, you can still eat when you have Bad Taste Syndrome. It just doesn’t taste good, but otherwise, it won’t harm you in any way.”

“Well, if you say so...” Lumpy slowly removed his hands from his belly.

“It took me a while, but I managed to finish a potion that will cure your condition and restore all of your tastes back to normal,” said Sniffles. “Would you like to take it now?”

Lumpy smiled as he nodded. Sniffles then brought Lumpy into his lab, and picked up a beaker of a light blue potion.

“If this tastes bad, it’s because of the Bad Taste Syndrome, not the antidote itself,” Sniffles mentioned. “But I assure you, as soon as you finish this, you’ll be able to enjoy my drink I made for you today.”

Lumpy nodded in understanding, then took the beaker and drank all of its contents down. Sniffles was right, the potion did taste bad, but Lumpy wouldn’t let that distract him from its benefits. When the beaker was completely empty, Lumpy pulled the beaker away from his mouth and waited a bit. The aftertaste from the potion grew weaker, and weaker, until it was completely gone.

“Well?” Sniffles asked excitedly.

“I think my tongue’s all better!” Lumpy said with a smile. He meant to say that his tastes might have returned, but he didn’t know how to word that just right. Luckily, Sniffles knew what he meant to say.

“In that case, are you ready to try my cherry-cotton candy drink?!” Sniffles held up another bottle of the red and pink drink he had intended to give Lumpy earlier today. He had made an extra serving in case Lumpy wanted some more of it.

“Yes, please!” Lumpy said as he nodded.

Sniffles handed him the bottle, and Lumpy looked down at it eagerly. He couldn’t wait to try this, especially now that he didn’t have to worry about the bitter taste in his mouth. He removed the lid from the beaker, and took a small sip for the taste.

Lumpy’s eyes immediately widened and his pupils grew. Sparkles appeared in his eyes as he gave a huge smile. The drink tasted absolutely amazing, unlike anything Lumpy had ever put in his mouth. Without thinking, he took a second, huge sip to take in more of the wonderful taste.

“Well?” Sniffles asked.

“Mmmmmm!!!” When Lumpy finished gulping down the drink, he looked at Sniffles, still having that huge smile on his face.

“Oh, Sniffles! That was AMAZING!!” said Lumpy. “It was the best thing I’ve ever tasted!! Thank you SO much for making it for me!”

Sniffles also smiled in joy when he heard that. His eyes sparkled.

“I knew you’d like that!” said Sniffles.

Lumpy put down the near-empty beaker, then went up to Sniffles and hugged him. “Thank you so, SO much for helping me get my tastes back, Sniffles!”

Sniffles hugged him in return. “You’re welcome, Lumpy.”

“You sure know how to make a great-tasting drink!” Lumpy mentioned as he let go of Sniffles. “You should make more of those more often!”

“Oh, you really think so?” Sniffles blushed as he heard that. “Thanks, Lumpy! Maybe it would be a good idea to make some more, wouldn’t it?”

“Well, why wouldn’t it be?” Lumpy asked. “I bet everyone would love it just as much as me!”

Sniffles could only blush even more at the idea. But he was much happier that Lumpy had both recovered his tastes and enjoyed the beverage that he had made for him. Maybe Lumpy would enjoy the other kinds of drinks Sniffles knew how to make as well...

That being said. Sniffles decided to make a reminder to himself to make some more antidotes for Bad Taste Syndrome. He wanted to be ready for the day Lumpy came down with it again... or the day Sniffles came down with it himself, whichever came first. Either way, they would both know exactly what to do so they could keep enjoying all of the foods and drinks they loved so much.


End file.
